Chapter 18. The Spring Emperor led the way, their destination being Sun and Moon Mountain. ...
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Feng siblings took Xia Zhu to pay New Year's visits.
I wandered from house to house from daytime until the moon rose above the willow trees.
Feng Feng's cousin, Aruo, gave Xia Zhu a piece of dried ghost vine. Although the dried ghost vine is not poisonous, carrying it on your person can ward off poison.
Besides, the three of them received many generous red envelopes. Xia Zhu felt really embarrassed, but she was penniless and couldn't offer any return gifts. With Feng Ye's permission, she used her abilities to heal the small wounds left on many people from their labor.
On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, the three packed their belongings and prepared to set off for Riyue Mountain.
Feng Feng insisted on wrapping her Wild Man No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 outfits in cloth bags and carrying them on her shoulders. She said that this was the only way to feel like she was traveling through wind and rain. She always loved role-playing and liked to make life feel like a story. On this journey westward, they would be the pilgrimage trio, which Xia Zhu found very interesting.
Old Jiang got up early to prepare a sumptuous breakfast for them. Just before leaving, Feng Ye came downstairs, still sleepy. She was holding a very warm-looking cotton coat in her arms, yawning and shoving it into Xia Zhu's arms without saying a word. Xia Zhu stood there holding the coat with the letters "xz" embroidered on the cuffs, her mouth agape like a choked chick.
Feng Ye also gave Feng Feng a small cotton pouch, telling her not to be stingy and to use it when needed. Feng Feng, her eyes shining, took the pouch with both hands, along with the chick pouch and Xia Zhu's mugwort sachet, and hung them around her waist.
The savage was thus equipped and given an identity: the Three-Bag Elder of the Beggars' Sect.
After saying goodbye to the Feng family, Xia Zhu, the Michelin tire man who was wearing a thick cotton coat and a school uniform jacket with tears secretly welling up in his eyes, Feng Feng, the three-bag elder of the Beggars' Sect, and Feng Mian, an ordinary villager, set off on their journey.
After a long and arduous journey westward, involving three bus transfers, they finally arrived at the foot of Tiansun Mountain, the highest peak in Dongshan, covered in dust and grime, on a local villager's motorcycle taxi. Xia Zhu was puzzled that they had been traveling for two or three days and were still within Dongshan's territory. She asked Feng Feng why they didn't go to the city to take a train or high-speed rail that would go directly to Puyang, where Riyue Mountain is located. Feng Feng, however, looked inscrutable and said, "You'll find out soon enough."
They checked into a local guesthouse, and after putting their luggage away, Fengmian went out to buy tickets for climbing Tianshan Mountain the next day. After all, this was a scenic area, and they had to follow the rules to go up the mountain.
Xia Zhu had never stayed in a hotel before. She looked around, took out her clothes from her backpack and spread them on her and Feng Feng's bed. Although the small hotel was well-equipped and much better than her home, the kettle was covered with a thick layer of white limescale, the paint on the walls was damp and peeling, and even the blankets were a bit damp. The air in the mountains was much more humid than on the plains.
She opened the window to let in some fresh air. Outside, the towering Tian Sun Mountain stretched into the clouds. The commercial street below was bustling with people. It was already dinnertime, and the street was brightly lit and lively, with the aroma of snacks wafting through the air.
There were more tourists than expected during the holiday, and the better hotels were already fully booked. However, they were only staying here for one night. Xia Zhu didn't have high requirements for the accommodation, but she was worried that Feng Feng and Feng Mian wouldn't sleep well.
"Ah Zhu, come quick!"
Looking back, she saw Feng Feng sitting cross-legged on the small bed, beckoning to her mysteriously.
"Didn't you want to ask why we didn't take the direct train?" Feng Feng patted the seat next to him for Xia Zhu to sit down, then untied the cloth bag from his waist.
It was the one Fengye gave her before she left.
She gripped the knotted rope of the cloth bag with both hands, muttering incantations, and the jade charm on her ear emitted a faint glow.
This cloth bag seems to have a protective seal on it, so the contents inside must be very important.
The small bag flashed with golden light and was opened, revealing Feng Feng's mouth to Xia Zhu.
Inside were small, dark gold slips of paper.
She gestured for Xia Zhu to take out a card.
The room was dark, with only dim daylight barely enough to see anything, and even Feng Feng, who was sitting opposite me, had a blurry face.
But the small piece of paper taken from the cloth bag clearly shimmered with golden light. Xia Zhu gently squeezed it in her hand; the material didn't seem like ordinary paper. It was tough enough not to be easily torn, yet unexpectedly soft. There were also dark patterns on the paper that emitted colorful light as it moved. In the center of the paper was a string of symbols that she couldn't understand, resembling both patterns and some kind of writing.
“This,” Feng Feng pointed to the symbol, “is the currency of the Divine Blood Clan, the Divine Strategy.”
Divine strategy is the language of the gods, used to convey divine instructions. Xia Zhu held the slip of paper, turning it over and over, and finally came to a conclusion.
This is just scribbles.
"Besides attending the Nine Heavens Conference, we have another important reason for going to Sun and Moon Mountain: to exchange the Natural Stones for Divine Strategies." Feng Feng pointed a finger at the Heavenly Grandson outside the window. "Divine Strategies are the currency of the Divine Blood World. We'll need them to climb to the top of the mountain tomorrow."
"What does the text above mean?" Xia Zhu asked.
“I don’t know either. For me, the Divine Strategy is just money to exchange for good things, but for many families, it’s a priceless treasure, something to be revered. Some people spend their entire lives studying its contents, hoping to decipher the secrets of heaven. But as far as I know, no one has ever deciphered even a single word of the Divine Strategy.” Feng Feng shrugged, but suddenly his expression changed, becoming serious. “So, Azhu, because the Divine Strategy is also a symbol of family honor, in the Dream of the Demon, one part of the danger comes from the Dream Master, the Demon, while another, undeniable danger comes from the competitors of other families.”
Her eyes looked like two candle flames in the darkness.
"If you're unlucky, a dream can attract many unknown officials from different factions, all vying for high-level innate astrological stones."
"I'm fighting for the glory of the Spring Emperor too." She put one hand to her forehead and shook her head helplessly.
Just as Feng Feng was about to continue playing the role of fighting passionately for his family, there was a knock on the door.
When Fengmian returned after buying the tickets, he thoughtfully brought back dinner.
"I had a disposable sleeping bag in my bag, but I forgot to take it out first." As soon as he entered the room, he saw the clothes that Xia Zhu had spread on the bed. He put down the things he had bought and went to his own room.
“That’s Feng Mian.” Feng Feng tied the Shence Bag back around his waist, jumped off the bed, and ran towards a table of fragrant delicacies.
After the last ray of light disappeared behind Tiansun Mountain, the temperature around me became cold and damp. The mountaintop was hidden in the clouds and could not be seen from the horizon. It seemed that it would snow tonight.
A dim, yellowish light illuminated the room, casting blurred shadows within the lampshade on the ceiling. After finishing their meal and tidying up, Feng Mian took the trash and left the room.
About ten minutes later, there was another knock on their door.
It was Fengmian who turned back.
He tapped the talisman on his right ear. "I suggest we take Azhu into the dream again before going to Sun and Moon Mountain. It'll help her get familiar with it. The flow of time is different in dreams and in reality, so it won't delay our trip."
The three reached an agreement. Xia Zhu got up and closed the glass window, pulled the blinds down halfway, and finally turned off the room lights. They sat on Feng Feng's bed in the dim light, unable to see each other's faces clearly, only their general outlines bringing a little reassurance.
“Azhu, now that you have Fu Yu, you will be entering the dream with your physical body, not just your consciousness like before. So bring everything you need with you.” Feng Feng pointed to the equipment on his body, indicating that these items would enter the Wraith World with them.
Xia Zhu thought for a moment, then put a winter coat and a light shirt into her backpack. She wasn't sure what season it would be, so it was best to be prepared. Apart from some daily toiletries and a few books she was reading, she didn't bring much else. After hesitating for a moment, she picked up the book "Strange Herbs by the Firefly Window," put on her bag, and sat down with the two of them again.
Although it was dark and she couldn't see people's expressions, Feng Feng's eyes were especially bright. She reached out and touched Xia Zhu's arm in the direction of Xia Zhu.
"Press down on Fu Yu with your left hand, raise your right hand, and repeat whatever I say." After saying that, she held up two fingers of her left hand and waved them in front of Xia Zhu's eyes, "Like this."
Xia Zhu took a deep breath, mimicking her gesture. She pinched the talisman on her right ear with her left hand and raised two fingers to her chest with her right hand, concentrating all her attention to discern Feng Feng's voice. In the hazy atmosphere, every subtle sound was amplified. She heard Feng Feng exhale as well, followed by a low chant of an incantation.
"The sun and moon cease their rotation, and heaven and earth are born together."
"On the thirty-second day, the demons and monsters revealed themselves."
"I will not see people, nor will I see them."
"The Spring Emperor leads the way, the Dream Eater rings the bell..."
Feng Feng paused after each recitation, waiting for Feng Mian and Xia Zhu to repeat her incantation. When the last "bell" was uttered, Xia Zhu suddenly felt the talisman between her fingers become scalding hot and begin to emit a dazzling light. Just as she was about to reach her limit, the light formed by the three talismans seemed to be kneaded into three water lines by an invisible force, converging into a dark golden sphere in the center of the three people sitting around. The sphere seemed to have a life of its own, and after a few twists and turns, it transformed into the shape of a Jianmu tree.
As the Jianmu tree took shape, strong winds rose all around, and the light from the Jianmu tree suddenly intensified. Xia Zhu had to close his eyes, feeling dizzy and the wind howling incessantly. It took a long time for the wind to subside.
Suddenly quiet, she felt a ringing in her ears. Her eyes remained closed, but you could see the blood vessels shining through her eyelids, a bright red tinged with purple.
"Ah Zhu, Ah Zhu, you can open your eyes now." Feng Feng's voice rang in her ears, and Xia Zhu opened her eyes at the right time.
Before them lay an endless, vast space, its entire surface a magnificent reddish-purple hue. The ceiling and walls were covered with purplish-red, fleshy, bud-like protrusions of varying sizes, yet they were also crystal clear, like gemstones. Their smooth, iridescent surfaces shimmered with the color of hibiscus, and as their gaze shifted, they seemed to gleam with the light of jade. Before one could even swallow back the nausea of what they mistook for fleshy buds, they were stunned into stopping their thoughts by the dazzling, shimmering light.
The ground was covered with countless puddles. Xia Zhu took a step closer to the nearest puddle, which was filled with a thick, mercury-like liquid. Next to each puddle stood an octagonal glass wind chime of different colors.
"What's going on today? It's just the few of us here?" Feng Feng scratched his head and looked around.
Xia Zhu wasn't sure if they were already dreaming, but judging from Feng Feng's words, there should have been many people here originally.
Feng Feng hopped over a few puddles and came to her side. "I haven't introduced it to you yet. This place is called Mo, the entrance to the dream world, and also a time rift, the thirty-second day independent of time. All the unknown officials who have recited unknown incantations will come here first to selectively enter a suitable dream." She pointed down to the mercury pit at Xia Zhu's feet. "Look, this is it. It's strange, the Nine Heavens Assembly is coming soon, there should be a lot of people cramming at the last minute."
Seeing Xia Zhu staring at her, she continued, "The tournament will select the family with the most Divine Strategies within a year to become the host family for the next Nine Heavens Tournament. So this time of year is the last sprint for those people, entering dreams to obtain stones, and then going to Sun and Moon Mountain to exchange for Divine Strategies. This year's tournament is also being held at Sun and Moon Mountain, which saves them the time of going back and forth, avoiding having to run around to both places..."
“It’s strange that there are only the three of us today,” Feng Mian agreed.
A gap in time.
Xia Zhu looked up. The stone wall above her head was more than ten stories high. All around her were endless puddles of water, giving her an indescribable sense of loneliness.
The thirty-second day, independent of time, does it mean that time here is relatively stopped? If one were to remain hidden inside the tapir, wouldn't it be like finding some kind of cheat code, perhaps even achieving immortality?
"Is anyone there!" Feng Feng shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. The echo reached the stone wall and came from a great distance, "Is anyone there..." It felt as if another Feng Feng from a different time and space was responding to him.
Just thinking about living endlessly in this place year after year made Xia Zhu's skin itch uncontrollably, as if several ants were lurking beneath her blood vessels, gnawing at her veins.
A note from the author:
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The second dream begins in the next chapter.
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